Container structure



0a. 1, 1940. F. Y. M KENNE 2,216,417

CONTAINER STRUCTURE Filed April 12, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 1, 1940. t F. Y. MCKENNEY 2,216,417

CONTAINER STRUCTURE Filed A 'ril 12. 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Get. 1, 1940 I PATENT OFFICE L 1x12316317 s -co;NTAnynR STRUCTURE 'Fred- Y. McKenney, Red Bank, Tenn, assignor to Cumberland Case Company,

Chattanooga,

Tenn., a corporation of Tennessee ,"fApplication April12, 1938, Serial No. 201,615 i 1 Claim. (oi. 217-49) Y The present invention relates to :a 'container structure and, more particularly, to a structure for bracing and reinforcing boxes and other containers. I

The invention is herein shown and described applied to a milk bottle crate, -but it will be understood that the invention is applicable to containers of various types. 1

An important object of the invention istoproduce a container of strong and rugged construction, this object being primarily attained by eliminating joints at the corners of the container.

In various types of milk bottle crates and other containers, the bottom and corner portions of the crates are subjected to particularly heavy wear from frequent dropping of the crates or from movement of the crates against each other. e

By the present invention, the corners and bottom edges of the crate are braced by reason of an interlocking relation of structural elements, with the result that the entirev crate is greatly strengthened.

Other objects and advantages of the inventio will be apparentfrom the followingv description wherein, I 1

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a milk bottle crate constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the. crate,.a portion of the view being .in vertical transverse section;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line 33 of Figure 2. r

Figure 4 is a plan view showing themanner of joining the runners and corner braces of. the crate, the wall portions of thecrate being omitted from this view, and Y Figure 5 is a disassembled view of elements of the crate or container, the view illustrating the manner in which such elements are secured together.

The numerals I and H generally indicate the opposite end walls of a milk crate embodying the invention, the side walls. being indicated bythe numerals l2 and Ii -respectively. All of these walls are formed of wood slats, and as is usual in milk bottle crates, a bottle supporting grid I4 is provided, this grid being secured to the walls of the crate in a manner hereinafter described. Bottle spacing grids I are also provided at points intermediate the height of the walls. It will be obvious that in some instances each wall could be formed of one or more single boards, instead of slats.

Runners I8 and [9 are secured to the lower edges of the side and end Walls of the crate, the

side walls I2 and I3 of the crate.

.flange 26 may becut away as indicated at 28 in thickness at their lower edges as indicated by the numeral '30 so that both outer surfaces of the uping. surfaces of the walls of the container.

runners I8, hereinafter referred to as side runners, extending along the major portion of .the As best shown in Figure 5, the side runners are of channel form,

'each runner including opposite and upstanding flanges 2d and 2!, which flanges are respectively provided with ears 22 and 23 at their ends. As examplifled by ear 23in Figure 4, each ear includes an inwardly extending portion 23a, the ear then being bent at right angles to lie parallel to but within the plane of the flange 2|. f The end runners I9 are of substantially U- shaped form i n horizontal section to provide angled extensions 24 and 25 at each end-thereof.

In cross section, the'end runners I9 are of channel form to provide inner and outer flanges 26 and 27, respectively. The end runners I9 may be made up from a straight strip of channel stock, in which case the bight portionv of the inner Figure 5 to facilitate bending to U-shaped form,

.or they may be blanked from flat stock and formed to shape.

The side runners I8 and end runners I9 have ,their lower walls upwardly recessed throughout the greater portions of their lengthsand as indicated at I811. in Figure 5. The object of this arrangement is to prevent the side flanges 20 and 2I, and 26 and 27, from spreading apart or opening out when crates are dropped or otherwise receive blows from the bottom. V

The end runners [9' have their flanges 26 and 21, including the flanges on the angled extensions standing flanges ofthe side runners and end runners will be in the same plane as the correspond- The lower corner portions or ends of the lower slats of each side wall I2 and [3 of the container are further reduced in thickness as indicated at 3| to permit the closely spaced ears 22 and 23 of the side runners to fit about the same.

Corner braces extend up along the corners of the crate, each corner bracing structure preferably comprising two members, an inner corner bracing member 34 and an outer corner bracing member 35, both members being right-angled to entirely surround the corners of the container.

In order that the outer corner bracing members 35 may have their outer surfaces flush with the outer surfaces of the side and end walls of the container, the wooden slats forming the container walls are planed down or otherwise reduced in thickness as indicated at 31, a groove 38 being provided at the inner end of each reduced portion to permit the rounded or angled edges 40 of the outer corner bracing members 35 to fit into the same, thereby entirely avoiding any projections or sharp edges adjacent the corners of the crate.

The lower ends of the outside corner braces 35 are inwardly offset as indicated at 42 so that when these offset portions are fitted within the angles of the end runners ill, the outer surface of the main portion of each outside corner brace will be flush with the outer surface of the outer wall 21 of the end runner. side corner brace 34 is also ofiF-set as indicated at 43 in order that the ofi-set portion may fit within the angle portion of the end runner.

It will be observed that the positioning of the off-set lower ends 42 and 43 of the corner braces within the angles of the end runners will reduce the space between the flanges of the angled extensions 25 of the end runners. However, as indicated in Figures 4 and 5, the ears 22 and 23 of the side runners 18 are sufiiciently close together to enable these ears to be fitted in the space thus provided. As indicated in Figures 3 and 5, the slatsforming the side walls l2 and [3 have their ends rounded as shown at 45 so that these side slats will extend entirely into the space between the inner and outer corner braces 34 and 35, the ends 46 of the end wall slats abutting against the flat lateral surfaces 45a of the side wall slats.

It will be observed that by the construction described above, the various elements are securely and completely interlocked, rivets, bolts or other securing means being provided to hold the elements in looking position, these rivets extending through the various rivet holes indicated in the drawings. For example, the angled extensions 24 and 25 have rivet holes 50 in their flanges with which the rivet holes 5| of the ofi-sets 42 and 43 of the corner braces are aligned. The rivet holes 52 in the ears 22 and 23 of the side runners I8 are aligned with the rivet holes 50 and 5| and the rivet which extends through these aligned apertures also passes through a rivet hole 53 in the lower side slat.

The end runners I!) also have rivet holes 55 therein adapted to be aligned with rivet holes 56 in the lower ends of the corner bracing members 34 and 35, the rivet which extends through these apertures also extending through an aperture in the lower end slat.

As indicated in Figure 2, rivets are also provided in the corner bracing members at points intermediate the height thereof, these rivets likewise extending through the aligned portions of the slats of the walls.

The lower end and side wall slats have grooves The lower end of each in- 60 on their inner faces in which the framing edge of the bottle supporting grid will fit, the inner corner braces 34 having kerfs 6| provided therein to accommodate the rounded corners of the grid. The bottle spacing grids I 5 are supported in generally similar fashion as shown in Figure 2.

It will be observed that the arrangement of the end runners [9 whereby their angled extensions 24 and 25 extend about and past the corners of the container greatly strengthens the corner construction. That is, a means is thus provided to eliminate joints exactly at the corners of the crate, a weak feature of previous containers. The strength of the crate is, of course, also increased by the interfitting of the side runners with the extensions of the end runners and also by the looking together of the side and end runners and the corner braces as well as the slats of the container walls.

The use of end runners extending about the corners of the crate also obviates one joint heretofore-provided in numerous forms of containers.

' That is, it has previously been necessary to provide a corner member to which the side and end runners were secured by means of two separate sets of rivets, forming two joints. By the present construction only one joint is necessary because the end runners are directly joined to the side runners.

- The present construction is also advantageous in'that all of the surfaces of the various elements are substantially flush. This is particularly important with regard to the outer surfaces of the containers, since it prevents two adjacent containers from becoming locked together, as might occur if abutting projections were opposed on adjacent crates. The smoothness of the bottom surface of thepresent container is also highly desirable, because it enables the container to more easily move along conveyors.

Another advantage results from the overlapping of the runners and the corner braces at the corners of the crate, the provision of multiple layers of metal at this point at which wear is most apt to occur being a substantial improvement.

I claim:

The combination in a container, of side and end walls, the lower edge of one wall and the adjoining lower edge portions of the two adjacent :walls being of reduced cross section, adjoining within the angles of said channel members and U-shaped channel members extending along two adjacent walls and including ears extending into said corner bracing members.

I FRED Y. McKENNEY. 

